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Sounds of silence: Hilary Duff's music could not be found on the four largest legal music download sites in Australia.Photo: Domino Postiglione

They want us to pay for music downloads but don't
provide the music, reports Daniel Ziffer.

Australia's recording industry wants punters to download their
music legally - to pay to play.

In their attempt to stop the free, illegal distribution of music
over the internet, they have funded legal battles against software
and warned consumers about the dangers of downloading files that
may contain malicious software and viruses. What they haven't done
is given them any other option.

When The Age attempted to download Australia's hottest
songs - every title on the top 50 chart - we went to the four
largest legal download sites in Australia. Our failure rate was
between 32 and 60 per cent.

At one site only three of the top 10 songs were available for
legal download. And 10 songs, 20 per cent of the chart, were not on
any of the sites.

Legal providers blame illegal download sites for cutting into
their profitability and scaring music label owners, making it
difficult to provide content.

"It's pretty hard to compete with free," said the general
manager of Soundbuzz, Paul Buchanan, whose site had 23 of the 50
songs, or 46 per cent.

While expressing surprise at the figures, Mr Buchanan said the
legal material available for download changed as hits from major
companies and independents rose and fell. For example, he said, a
recent deal with major distributor Universal Music would greatly
expand their range. If songs from Universal were included,
Soundbuzz would have had the entire top 10 for download in the week
surveyed, rather than just four of them.

"What we've got to get is the right to get songs online," he
said. Consumers use credit cards to pay from $1 to $1.50 for
singles, with a discount for albums.

The four sites were suggested by a representative of the
Australian Record Industry Association, who also provided the
singles chart, based on sales in music stores. The sites were
Telstra's Bigpond, the Channel Nine and Microsoft venture NineMSN,
Destra - which provides a "back-end" to web-based brands such as
Sanity and JB HiFi - and SoundBuzz.

Record industry spokesman Michael Speck said that in the past it
has been almost impossible for legal online providers to compete
with the free music provided by peer-to-peer sites such as
Kazaa.

The difficulty of getting legal downloads is a reflection of how
much control the illegal operations have, he said. "The struggle is
not the technology . . . everyone wants to be online," he said.
"But when you have an illegal operation like Kazaa dominating the
space . . . that's the obstacle."

Earlier this month Kazaa was ordered by the Federal Court

to stop the flow of illegal music on its system within two
months, ruling it had breached music copyright by authorising its
users to swap songs illegally.

While the music industry hailed the ruling as a blow against
internet piracy, internet activity continues unabated.

The court heard that in 2004, 317 million people were using
Kazaa - 79 per cent of file-sharing worldwide. But the latest
research shows a rush to other file-sharing services.

According to Nielsen/NetRatings, use of Kazaa by Australians
fell 39 per cent between September 2004 and July 2005, while use of
Limewire, another peer-to-peer network, grew 824 per cent. "Kazaa,
even at its peak, wasn't seeing the numbers Limewire is now," a
research analyst said.

Mr Buchanan said the move to other illegal providers was an
"inevitable migration" which has occurred many times, as the legal
heat on a site lessens the content they offer and consumers go
elsewhere. "What (the verdict) has done is set up a legal precedent
that this is an illegal activity."

In a show of support for the industry's push towards legal
downloads, Australian artists have signed a statement welcoming the
court's decision.

"Ripping off our music and sharing it on the internet for profit
is wrong," it said. "The judgement justifies the fight to protect
our property and the work of all artists who want to make a living
from creating music."

Artists including Alex Lloyd, Australian Idol winners
Casey Donovan and Guy Sebastian, Kasey Chambers and Kate Ceberano
have signed the statement. Kylie Minogue's manager Terry Blamey and
bands The Cat Empire, Jet and Powderfinger all write to support a
"fairer environment where all those who work to create a piece of
music are rewarded for their effort".

The combined Australian effort is a departure from the
experience of US hard rock band Metallica, who were scorned when
they become party to the case against swap-site Napster.

But even though Sydney band Thirsty Merc signed the pledge,
their fans will have a hard time getting their music online. Their
catchy single When the Weather Is Fine is not available on
any of the four sites.

US magazine Forbes this week speculated that Apple, which
makes the iPod MP3 player, could open its Australian iTunes Music
Store as early as October 3. Apple's legitimacy would be a massive
boost to legal downloading.